


brave the storm

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Dates, Happy Birthday Sendou Aichi, M/M, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 12:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19109599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: What starts out as Kai awkwardly trying to ask Aichi if he can take him to lunch for his birthday ends with both of them drenched from a thunderstorm and cuddling on the sofa.





	brave the storm

**Author's Note:**

> 6/6 is a very important day! it's aichi's birthday! so of course i wanted to write kaichi birthday fluff!

What started as a sunny June morning had turned to ominous storm clouds by noon, a shift in the weather that Kai hadn't anticipated when he arrived at Aichi's house.

He was there to take Aichi to lunch, a kind of date, Kai supposed, at least that was his intention; he'd agonized over what to do when he found out Aichi's birthday was coming up, and ultimately had to turn to Emi for advice on what Aichi would want to eat. But try as he might to frame it as though he were simply interested in taking his best friend to get a birthday lunch, Emi asked him point-blank if he was asking her if he could take her brother on a date, and Kai had to admit (to himself) that yes, that was what he wanted. To Emi, he denied it, though her statement that _Aichi would like that_ and _if you asked him to go on a date, he would say yes_ caused him many sleepless nights. Even worse, Emi mentioned that Aichi always took his birthday off of school so he could have a quiet time alone at home while Emi was in class and their mother was out running errands and having tea with friends, with the unhelpful insinuation that they would have the house to themselves that day.

In the end, he couldn't muster the strength to ask Aichi to spend part of his birthday with him ahead of time, so he decided that he would just show up and pass it off as something he'd considered upon waking up that morning.

Aichi was so surprised upon opening the front door that he slammed it shut again, leaving Kai both very confused and more than a little alarmed. But before he had a chance to overthink Aichi's reaction, the door swung open again and Aichi stammered out an invitation to come in.

"Ah, um, actually, I wanted to know if you had any, you know, plans for lunch."

It had _never_ been this hard to talk to Aichi.

"For--"

"Lunch," Kai repeated with more surety than his pounding heart would suggest.

Aichi opened his mouth and made a few incomprehensible noises before settling on a quiet "no, I don't" as he scuffed his sock against the floor.

Kai waited a few seconds before deciding that Aichi wasn't going to take the hint and blurted out "would you like to?" in one breathless half-whisper.

"To--"

"Lunch."

"Um, um, I..." Aichi tucked some loose hair behind his ear and stared at the floor. "I, yes, yes, I would like that. A lot."

There was something to be said about their combined aptitude when it came to this sort of thing, because they both stood at the door in silence for nearly thirty seconds before Kai finally kind of half-gestured for Aichi to follow him and Aichi shook his head in wide-eyed terror.

"Oh, n- I can't go out in this" --that same soft-looking pink turtleneck that he often wore-- "so, um, I'll be right back!"

And he promptly closed the door in Kai's face again.

Maybe this was what it was like, Kai thought as he stared at the door, to have feelings for someone and not knowing what to do with them; did Aichi really want to go to lunch with him? Would Aichi think of this as a date, an actual date, the kind where romantic feelings were involved, or was this two friends going to get lunch together on one of their birthdays?

He looked down at his own outfit; plain gray pants, a rather low-cut quarter-sleeve black shirt, and a simple black jacket. He wasn't dressed for a date, was he? Maybe he should have put more thought into his clothes today-- but no, Aichi didn't care about that, right? He never commented on Kai's clothes, so it probably wasn't a big deal to him, though Aichi definitely wouldn't say anything if he thought Kai did _or_ didn't look good (handsome? attractive?) in his usual attire, he was too shy for that--

Five minutes passed with Kai's mind circling around these irrational concerns like a figure skater, and when the door opened again with Aichi apologizing fervently about not being considerate enough to invite Kai inside while he waited, Kai was too focused on that short-sleeved white button-down shirt with the purple hemming, unbuttoned down his sternum, with an equally-low cut teal shirt underneath.

"Kai-kun?"

Kai pulled his eyes from Aichi's collarbones and stared at the ground. "Um, ready?"

"Mm-hmm!"

The walk to the restaurant from Aichi's house was short and uneventful, with the exception of Kai trying and failing miserably to touch Aichi's hand; every time he thought he had the courage to wrap his fingers around Aichi's, Aichi would reach up and brush his bangs out of his face, or pick at his lower lip, or scratch his nose. It was as though Aichi knew what Kai was trying to do and was determined to prevent Kai from doing that _very thing_ , which was a ridiculous thought but it haunted Kai the whole way, and when they finally reached the restaurant and Kai held open the door for Aichi, Kai didn't even notice the sky was getting darker by the minute.

"Get whatever you'd like," he offered, "I'm paying."

Aichi shook his head, apparently scandalized. "Oh no, Kai-kun, you don't have--"

"It's your birthday," Kai interrupted, "and I'm the one who asked you ou-- to come with me."

"Oh..." Aichi looked down at his hands in his lap. "If, if that's okay, then..."

They both spent a few minutes looking over the menu before placing their orders, and a few minutes more in silence as they waited for their meals. _This isn't normal,_ Kai thought in frustration, he and Aichi had always been able to talk freely, but there was something about this experience that was making it a progressively awkward (date? first date?) lunch, and it was killing Kai because he wanted this to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience for the both of them.

It was Aichi who broke the silence with a puzzled question. "Kai-kun, why aren't you in school?"

 _Oh._ Kai shifted in his seat. "I didn't feel like going."

"How irresponsible of you," Aichi replied, but it was in a teasing sort of voice that made Kai smile weakly. "How in the world are you going to pass your classes?"

"Miwa's taking notes for me."

"Does Miwa-kun know that?"

They both laughed at this (Miwa, incidentally, did _not_ know he was taking notes for Kai, and was in fact napping through his literature class) and suddenly the entire atmosphere of their lunch date changed.

They chatted even after their food arrived, about school (Aichi's math class was easy, but it was hard to pay attention during history), about their plans for the upcoming summer vacation (Kai wanted to spend a few days at Kamakura, but he wanted to see how this probably-first-date went before asking Aichi along with him), and, of course, about Vanguard. They had finished eating and were deep in discussion about hints of a new mechanic called "Striding" that was supposed to be released within the next six months when a clap of thunder caused both of them to jump.

And then the rain started.

"Oh," Kai said, staring at the sudden downpour, "that's a problem."

"Mm, it looks like it's going to be raining for a while," Aichi said, looking at his phone. He bit his lip. "For most of the afternoon."

As neither of them had thought to bring an umbrella, the prospect of getting drenched during a fifteen-minute walk back to Aichi's house became more of a reality. Kai suggested a taxi, but Aichi pointed out that despite Aichi's mother allowing Aichi to do it for his birthday, they were technically skipping school and the likelihood of getting a taxi driver who didn't grill them about their delinquency was low. They would have to walk back.

Kai paid the bill and they headed into the deluge together.

Thunder rumbled as they walked, keeping long strides (Kai) and jogging a little (Aichi), until lightning flashed and a clap of thunder roared close by, causing Aichi to let out a high-pitched yelp as he covered his ears against the sound.

"Aichi?"

Aichi lowered his shaking hands. "S-sorry, I--"

Without another word, Kai peeled off his wet jacket, stepped closer to Aichi, and held the jacket over the both of them in a poor imitation of an umbrella. Aichi looked up at Kai, mouth open in a tiny "oh" of surprise, and reached up to hold the jacket in place.

Kai set into a pace that he immediately discovered was too quick for Aichi; Aichi, and his legs, were much shorter than Kai, and he walked slower as a result. Kai didn't want to walk _too_ slowly, as that might make Aichi conscientious about his height, but he couldn't walk too fast or Aichi wouldn't be able to keep up with him. He also couldn't ditch the jacket and let Aichi use it on his own, because Aichi would refuse, so...

"Here."

The jolt in Kai's body when Aichi took his hand was so intense, he might as well have been shocked from the electricity building up in the air.

"Let's go," Aichi offered, red-faced, and Kai probably looked about the same.

Their brisk walk changed into a slow jog, which got faster the harder the rain fell; Aichi fell behind Kai several times, but Kai was able to pull Aichi along by the hand so they didn't lose too much speed, and even though the jacket covered hardly any of their bodies by the end of their run back to Aichi's house, Kai found that he didn't really mind that he was drenched to the bone.

Aichi breathed heavily as he fumbled in his pocket for his house key, rain cascading off the awning behind them. "Th-thank you, Kai-kun... lunch was really nice."

"Yeah." Kai's heart pounded. Aichi was still holding his hand while unlocking the front door. "I-I'd like to do it again. If, if you want."

"Yes!" Aichi smiled up at him, face red but happy.

Relief flooded Kai faster than the rain had drenched him. He'd managed to take Aichi on a date... they'd held hands... and Aichi wanted a second date...

 _Unless he didn't think it was a date?_ the annoying part of his self-doubt suggested. _And the hand-holding was a way to get home faster without getting separated. And of course Aichi wants to hang out with you again. You're friends._

He swallowed and pushed those thoughts aside for the time being. "Well, I'm glad... you had a good time, even though we got wet. I'll see you l--"

"Kai-kun!" Aichi tugged on Kai's hand, pouting. "Where are you going?"

"Home...?"

"Not in this weather! Come inside, we'll dry off and wait for the storm to pass."

And, ignoring all of Kai's feeble protests, Aichi pulled Kai into the house and closed the door behind them.

* * *

 

Two hours passed, and the storm raged on.

Kai sat in the living room in a too-small middle school gym uniform of Aichi's as their clothes dried upstairs. It was not a flattering outfit on anyone, especially not him, and especially since the shirt barely covered Kai's stomach and the shorts came up mid-thigh. Aichi had apologized through a poorly hidden smile as they toweled off and changed into dry things.

Aichi made tea and they played some Vanguard--of course they did, since Kai, who always took his deck everywhere with him, had a water-resistant deck case that kept his cards perfectly safe despite him getting wet, and they were them--but a particularly powerful clap of thunder shook the living room and caused Aichi to drop his entire hand on the coffee table, which naturally disrupted the entire game. Aichi retreated to the sofa, where he wrapped a throw blanket over his head and pulled his knees close to his body, leg twitching with each rumble outside.

Kai set his cards on the coffee table and shuffled over to the sofa, where Aichi now had his entire head buried in the blanket as the rain pounded harder against the house. He reached out a hand, touching Aichi's knee.

"Hey. You okay?"

The lump under the blanket made a vague gesture that could have been an affirmative or a negative, so Kai lifted himself up onto his knees so he was facing where Aichi's face was, and lifted the blanket so he could see Aichi staring back at him in red-faced embarrassment.

"Hey," Kai said again, making his voice as soft as he could, "are you afraid of the storm?"

Aichi chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds. "It's embarrassing, huh..."

"No. Storms can be deadly sometimes."

"It's just the sounds, really. The thunder is too loud and makes me... I don't know, anxious, I guess."

"Do you... can... can I..."

With every word Kai tried to say, the annoying part of his mind that tried to convince him that he was reading too much into his relationship with Aichi interrupted him, _he won't see it the way you want him to you know that right he'll just see it as you being a friend he doesn't like you like that can't you understand,_ and he had to exhale heavily to clear his thoughts, Aichi's anxious face staring up at him from under the blanket.

He'd never been very good with words, after all.

He sat on the sofa next to Aichi and lifted the blanket over his own head, so they were sharing the warm space, bodies pressed up next to one another. Kai had to force himself to take steadying breaths, hoping that Aichi wouldn't notice his increased heartbeat, but he needn't have worried. Aichi seemed to have forgotten to breathe as he shifted, slowly,

slowly,

_s l o w l y,_

into Kai's chest.

"Kai-kun," he whispered.

"Yes?"

Aichi finally breathed, a content sigh. "I, I know I'm safest when... I'm with you."

His face was buried in Kai's chest, so he couldn't have seen the relief in every line of Kai's face, or the water welling at the corners of Kai's eyes, or Kai's desperate attempts to blink them back. "I'm so glad."

"Thank you for today. I, it meant so much to me, to spend it with you."

The last vestiges of doubt in his mind disappeared. "Thank you for letting me be with you today. Happy birthday, Aichi."

Aichi smiled into Kai's chest. "Thank you, Kai-kun."

They relaxed into each other, rapid heartbeats slowing to a synchronized thrum. Kai's arm wrapped around Aichi's waist and pulled him closer; Aichi's fingers found Kai's warm cheek and played idly with Kai's hair until, at last, his hand slid down, down, down, his face pressed into the crook of Kai's neck, and Aichi was fast asleep, curled up with Kai until the thunderstorm ended.

Kai stroked Aichi's hair as he slept, listening to the tiny noises of unconscious contentment from the back of Aichi's throat. What a perfect existence, he thought, and how blessed Kai was to have him in his life despite everything that had ever happened between them. A perfect existence, despite his imperfections, capable of unconditional love, love that Kai desperately wanted and that Aichi freely gave. To him, to _him,_ out of everyone in the world that Aichi could love, he chose Kai Toshiki.

Kai loved him so much, he thought it might burst from his body.

The storm would pass, Aichi's mom and sister would come home, and Kai would be expected to stay for Aichi's birthday dinner. Kai would change back into his now-dry clothes, he would have to go home, and Aichi would take him by the hand at the front door as they both inwardly battled with the desire to give the other a good-bye kiss.

But for now, Kai would hold Aichi, and Aichi would hold Kai, and they would wait out the storm, together.

 


End file.
